Pigeons and Doves. 31 



young ones patting their beaks right inside that of the old bird 

 who pumps up the food from its crop. I never liked the idea of 

 feeding young birds from one's lips, so I used to try and hand- 

 feed with a blunted and shaped quill toothpick, opening the beak 

 and forcing the food down the throat. Often it was a failure. 

 Young doves are very obstinate and will die, if they want to, 

 despite all you can do. Last summer, I was hand-rearing a little 

 Barbary only a day or two old. Its rightful place had been taken 

 by a small Brush Bronzewing, who, being smaller than its foster- 

 brother, was getting too little food and doing badly, so I took the 

 Barbary's own young one away. It did wonderfully well, and 

 being very healthy wriggled about in my left hand as I fed it 

 with the toothpick, making it rather a work of patience, for it 

 lost as much food as it took. Suddenly it accidently pushed its 

 head between the base of the first and second finger of my left 

 hand, and the change in its attitude was instantaneous. // 

 thought viy fifige?'S rojtnd it ivas the encloshig pareiiCs beak, and 

 its mouth opened very wide and it took the food almost faster 

 than I could put it in. After that things went gaily, I had no 

 more trouble of forcing an obstinate little beak open with the 

 toothpick, but had only to put its beak between my fingers when 

 it would wriggle and squeak for food, opening the beak very wide 

 and standing on tip toe in its excitement. 



During the intervals of feeding, the little dove was kept in 

 a pot placed on the hot pipes in the greenhouse. A handful of 

 hay was put in the pot, some flannel on the top of the bird, and 

 over this a piece of perforated zinc to prevent the young one 

 jumping out. It soon knew my step and voice, and would at 

 once start squeaking, even if it could not see me, when I came to 

 feed it. 



The young Brush Bronzewing dying I put the Barbary 

 back with its parents ; they seemed very pleased, and at once 

 went to feed it. And now comes the strange part, instead of 

 thrusting its beak into that of the old bird, the young one just 

 opcjicd its beak and squeaked. The cock Barbary retired quite 

 puzzled, and evidently consulted with the hen, for in some way 

 she made the young one understand, and shortly after I saw it 

 being fed in the natural way. It may have been partly the heat 



